Plan what to do when a site shows a CAPTCHA
Plans the compliant response when your scraper meets a CAPTCHA: stop, check the rules, ask for access, or switch to an official data source.
Task:
Plan my response, as numbered steps, to a CAPTCHA that appeared while my scraper was collecting data.
Context:
The scraper collects [data] from [site name or type] about [how often]. The CAPTCHA first appeared after [what changed, for example more requests or a new server]. The data matters to me because [reason].
Rules:
- Treat the CAPTCHA as the site saying that automated access is not welcome at this rate or at all, and plan around that meaning.
- Include steps to stop the scraper, review my request rate and identity headers, and re-read the site's terms and robots.txt.
- Include the permitted routes, such as contacting the owner, an official API or data export, and a licensed source.
- Do not include any method to solve, bypass or farm out CAPTCHAs.
- Legal questions are general information, not professional advice, so say when to consult a qualified lawyer.
Result:
A numbered list of at most 8 steps, each with the decision it leads to. End with a 4-sentence message to the site owner asking about access.